My dad is now improving, says Rani Mukerji

By Subhash K. Jha

Mumbai, April 30 (IANS) Rani Mukerji's father, who had two major cardiac arrests in the past, recently collapsed and the actress says luckily it wasn't his heart and thankfully her father is improving.

"Luckily, it wasn't his heart. It was his kidney. And that was bad enough. Because of his earlier heart condition the kidney couldn't take the strain. So yes, I've been through a rough time," Rani told.

"But all is well now. Dad is well on the road to recovery. And we can't thank the industry and all my friends and his friends enough," she added.

When detected with a kidney condition, Rani's father, Ram Mukherjee who directed Dilip Kumar starrer "Leader" in 1964, was immediately taken to Jaslok Hospital where to add to the family's distress wrong medication was administered.

"But that was no one's fault. Fortunately, they detected the error before there was any damage. After that he has been getting better by the day," said the actress who just wrapped up the last day of her shooting for Yash Raj Films' project with Shahid Kapur.

But for a while it was touch-and-go for Rani.

"Yeah, you could say that again. I barely had the time to touch dad's forehead in the ICU and I had to go for shooting. But you know me. I don't let my work suffer for anything. That's the way my father has brought me up," said the actress last seen in "Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic".

More than her friends in the film industry, who Rani says stood by her in her hour of distress, it was her father's associates whose support overwhelmed her.

"My father's colleagues and workers from his workplace have stood by us like pillars of strength. At a time like this you realise how important it is to have sown enough love to reap its harvest during crisis. You say I'm popular? You should've seen my dad's popularity. I feel so proud of him," she said.

"Friends like Karan Johar and Sanjay Leela Bhansali have been wonderfully supportive. Sanjay called and asked, 'How's the rock star doing?' I said the rock star is rocking. I wonder if he meant me or my father, ha ha," she added.

Rani's father will be in hospital for a while.

"I don't want to bring him home until we're sure he's fully recovered. At Jaslok, he's being taken care of fully. Though now he's well enough to take care of himself, there're nurses to look after him round the clock. We at home cannot provide the same clinical care."

Now that shooting is over for now, Rani intends to spend all her time with her father.

"When he fell ill, it was like deja vu. When his heart attack had happened I was shooting and attending to him. Being a working girl has its advantages and disadvantages. While I can provide him with the best possible medical facilities, I can't give my father the amount of time I want to."